Pleasanton Students Solicited For Porn Pictures On Instagram; Parents Alerted
PLEASANTON (CBS SF) -- Parents in Pleasanton have been alerted that students have been getting messages on the social media app Instagram asking for pornographic images, according to the school district.
Two students reported receiving a message on their personal Instagrams, the Pleasanton Unified School District told KPIX 5.
In a letter to parents titled, "Social Media Warning," the district said the requests asked students for images of themselves in exchange for pictures of the unidentified Instagram account holder.
The account holder appears to be from outside the community, according to the school district, which said police had been notified and were working with Instagram to find out to whom the account belongs.
The school district did not specify which schools were affected. In the parent notice, the district included a link to Internet safety tips for middle school kids.
On Friday, Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi declined to say how many students were contacted and said the solicitations are "an opportunity to tell parents
to talk to their children about being careful about their social media activity."
Pleasanton police said it has been determined that the suspicious activity actually occurred back in January and February but students only reported it recently.
Pleasanton police said in a statement that they have launched an initial investigation into the allegations and are interviewing "involved parties" but added, "These investigations are quite complicated and require a significant amount of time, effort and collaboration from social media outlets and the courts."
Police said they don't have any other information to release at this time and won't release the names of the students or school locations because of the young ages of the students who were contacted.
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